DMV’s next steps for new license law

Raul Ortega holds a sign as he celebrates after California Gov. Jerry Brown signed bill AB60 on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall on Thursday. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN, GETTY IMAGES

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Nativo Lopez, a former immigrant rights leader based in Orange County, is interviewed after Gov. Jerry Brown signs the immigrant driver's licence bill in Los Angeles. ROXANA KOPETMAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Raul Ortega holds a sign as he celebrates after California Gov. Jerry Brown signed bill AB60 on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall on Thursday. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN, GETTY IMAGES

Help for future drivers

DMV encourages future applicants for a driver's license to prepare for the written exam by studying the California Driver Handbook available on the DMV website at www.dmv.ca.gov.

The website also features sample tests that could be useful for the applicants. The California Driver Handbook is available in 10 languages at all DMV field offices: English, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

With the DMV Now app – applicants can also start preparing to take the written driver's license exam by taking sample tests, watching DMV driving videos, finding local DMV field offices and getting important DMV alerts. DMV also has a YouTube channel where drivers can find videos to help hone driving skills and learn the rules of the road.

Source: California Department of Motor Vehicles

The law got passed. But the details have yet to be ironed out.

Following Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing Thursday of a driver’s license law for undocumented immigrants, the Department of Motor Vehicles is looking to draft new regulations and prepare field offices before an onslaught of new applications for the permits.

The bill is expected to draw 1.4 million Californians living in the country illegally to apply for driver’s licenses during the first three years after the law is implemented.

The law is to take effect by Jan. 1, 2015.

“This law will improve public safety for all Californians by helping ensure that undocumented persons pass a written and driving test and obtain proof of insurance and a license before driving their vehicles in California,” DMV Chief Deputy Director Jean Shiomoto said in a news release. “Thanks to AB 60, we believe more drivers will be safer on California roads.”

The cost of the program is estimated to run $140 million to $220 million for the first three years. But the new licenses are expected to raise about $50 million over three years, according to a legislative analysis. AB 60 did not allocate any additional money to pay for the program.

“There is no appropriation in AB 60 as there was no additional funding needed for the 2013-14 fiscal year,” DMV spokeswoman Jan Mendoza wrote in an email Friday.

To pay for the program, the fees on the new licenses could increase, according to Marva Diaz, spokeswoman for Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Salinas, who sponsored the bill.

The fee now for a driver’s license is $32. Diaz estimated the new license fees could be increased to as much as $100 but she said that was only a guess based on the estimated cost to implement the program and the number of applicants. Mendoza, meanwhile, wrote that officials have not determined any additional fees.

The DMV could not say how many new employees it will need to hire or whether the wait times and processing are expected to increase for everyone.

“There will likely be additional workload to process all transactions. However, it’s premature to comment on whether this will have any impact on wait times in the field offices,” Mendoza wrote.

What’s next for the DMV is setting up a schedule that will include a public notice of draft regulations and a public comment period.

The DMV plans to adopt regulations that will detail how applicants can provide their identity and California residency. One of the concerns expressed by critics is that people may be able to present false paperwork and obtain a driver’s license in someone else’s name.

DMV officials also will propose a design for the license, which will be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for compliance with federal law, according to a news release.

The license for people living here illegally will carry a recognizable feature, and the bill suggests “DP” for driving privilege, versus a “DL” for driver license.

Some opponents complained that a different-looking license would have a “scarlet-letter” effect against immigrants. The new law explicitly prohibits discrimination based on this license. It also prohibits using the license for criminal investigation, arrest or detention based on immigration status.

DMV currently processes approximately 27 million transactions per year in its offices, including about 10 million transactions related to driver licenses, and another 12 million online transactions a year, such as renewing vehicle registrations and driver licenses, change of address, and notice of release of liability.

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